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BLOG: Ravens Comradery

BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 19: Ray Lewis #52 and Ed Reed #20 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrate stopping the New York Giants on third down in a pre-season football game August 19, 2007 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

This week, I’ve had the pleasure of co-hosting Ravens players’ shows with my good friend Bob Haynie. During this time, it seems that one thing has been consistently talked about with the players. Comradery.

We see these guys as being super strong gladiators who stand alone and have great individual efforts. Just look at the play that Jarret Johnson made on Hines Ward. That was a great individual play. It was mono y mono. That’s how we saw it. The play that Haloti Ngata made against Rashard Mendenhall. That was a great individual effort by one of the best defensive players in the National Football League.

Even though those were individual plays, they are all driven by the tremendous comradery these men have. When speaking with these players, they talk about being responsible for one another and having one another’s backs on an off the field. You would think that’s how it is in every locker room but when a player like Bernard Pollard talks about how different it is when he appeared on the Haloti Ngata Show this past Monday night on 105.7 The Fan you realize it’s not that way everywhere.

Pollard was very impressed by the togetherness and lack of egos that exists with the Baltimore Ravens. That’s rare considering the Ravens have several players, seven to be exact, of the top 100 players in the league today on this roster. How can a team that’s that star-studded be so selfless? How can a team with so many individual stars care so much about the 52nd and 53rd man on the roster?

It’s clear that this team has one goal. That goal is to win a championship. There have been so many individual accolades for players on this team, but so many lack the one prized that awarded to a team that comes together to be the best. That prize is the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

With the team’s 35-7 victory over the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s way too soon to start talking post-season, but it’s clear that they are focused on being and beating the best. Football is the ultimate team sport and the individual players on this roster seem to lack the selfishness that stops some teams from being the best.

Rob Long

Rob Long

ROB LONG
Rob Long began his radio career in South Carolina at WYNN 106 in 1994 when hosted a Saturday morning show on the popular Hip Hop and R&B formatted station. Long was also a police officer in South Carolina.
When Long moved b...